John John Florence, tools down tail up at Cloudbreak, Fiji

After a few days lounging around in paradise, the gents finally got to hit the salt at Cloudbreak yesterday, with many of the big dogs finding form early. John John Florence surfed a solid heat against C.J Hobgood and Travis Logie, using any opportunity to liberate his tail. “It was my first time out at Cloudbreak and I had all these preconceived notions about what it looked like,” says our photographer Ryan Miller. “First off I thought it was closer to Tavarua. You really are just out in the middle of the ocean. There is nothing nearby. I honestly can’t believe they get this contest off and broadcast around the world. It seems like a massive feat. It’s the only contest without a crowd of spectators. That was maybe the biggest point of difference from the other events. That same mentality of everyone being together and kind of unified as one group carried over into the event.”